Charged in thefts from cars

Wednesday

Jul 31, 2013 at 1:00 PM

By David FrownfelderDaily Telegram Staff Writer

One man has been arraigned on two counts of larceny from a motor vehicle, and charges are pending against a second man. The pair were arrested by Tecumseh police July 24 in connection with a series of auto burglaries that occurred in the Tecumseh area over the past several weeks.

Gunnar Lee Bird Farinha, 21, of Tecumseh was arraigned Tuesday in Lenawee County District Court on two counts of larceny from a motor vehicle. A preliminary examination was set for Aug. 12 and he was returned to the Lenawee County Jail under $50,000 bond.

Lenawee County prosecutors have not yet filed what may be up to five counts of larceny from a motor vehicle against a second suspect, a 21-year-old Clinton man, who may also be facing fleeing-and-eluding charges for a pair of July 24 incidents.

According to a Tecumseh police report released Tuesday, at 3 a.m. July 24, a witness reported seeing a car parked at the end of Orchard Lane, a dead end street, and two men were seen carrying something to the car. When officers arrived, they saw two men at the car and yelled for them to stop. Instead, the pair got in the car, sped past officers and were able to escape.

About a half-hour later, the officers saw the car pulling into an entrance to the Conklin Estates apartments. But, as the officers turned around to investigate, the suspect’s car was seen heading north at high speed on Billmeyer Highway. After turning east onto Milwaukee Road, the suspect then attempted to turn northeast on Stone Highway. Officers got to the scene, but did not see any taillights. They saw skid marks and found the vehicle about 225 feet off the road in a shallow swampy section of land. The Clinton man, who was uninjured and alone in the vehicle, was also found and taken into custody.

Found in the car were several GPS units, some hand tools, some clothing, 17 compact discs and five empty CD cases, several pairs of shoes and 12 power cords and adapters. All of the items had been reported stolen from vehicles in the Tecumseh area over the past several weeks.